Wedding's, Birthday's, BBQ's ...oh my!!

Hello everyone :) How is your day going?!? Ours here in SA and all over South Texas can be summed up in one word ...WET!!! I love rainy days because it gives my a natural excuse to stay home and play in my Scraptuary until my heart's content :)

On Heartstring's FB page yesterday, she posted a question of whatcha been up to, so I thought I would share that with you. The title of today's post says it all...

I was blessed to have one of my BFF's spend sometime with me during her family vacation...lil' did she know it would be a workin' one ;) Thank you bunches my darlin' Tina for all your help on these, luv ya lots :)

First I recently had the honor of making a dear friend's wedding invite...

 I LOVED making this one!! The couple is getting married in a beautiful country location and I wanted the invite to represent that.  Eggshell textured cardstock is the base that has been embellished with the Stylized Flowers CB folder and distressed along the edges.  It's a trifold with a paper floral "ribbon" woven thru it. The front inital B is from the Storybook cart. and all info including response card, directions, and such are computer printed.

When I finished with those another request was for 50th Bday invites for a lakeside BBQ. I came up with two samples. The first is a Save the Date Invite Combo.  {My darling hubby purchased the Splish Splash Cricut Lite Cartridge for me for this one....LOVE him LOTS!!}.  Nothing says summer like bright, fun, and lots of water!!  Graphic distressed paper is CB'd with D'vine Swirl folder, the 5 is from Cuttin' Up cart, and the words and life preserver is from Splish Splash CLC. I hand wrote the info, you're invited, and birthday bash because I don't have that many phrase stamps.

Next is a BBQ version for the same bday. The front view is on the left.  I used the Wildcard CC for the envelope (pg. 72 Owl envelope) and Everyday Paper Dolls for the grill. One of the techniques repeated is inked edges with Distressed brushed corduroy. The stamped sentiment is from the $ bin at JoAnn's. The reason I chose the envelope is because of this back view on the right.... the tree top and grass is CB'd with the Floral Screen folder and inked with Whisper Sage. For the swing, I broke a wooden popsicle stick and distressed it with the same ink.  The twine is attached with mini glue dots.            I have the Cricut Create and am very grateful for it.  The only limitation is the size of the envelopes on the WildcardCC. But I love turning negatives into positives soooo why not make the envelope the focus instead of the invite itself?

The inside is very simple..torn edges are inked with the same ink and layered on top of the same patterned paper that bands the outside of the envelope.  The info is computer printed in Rope font and Outlaw font. 

Hope you enjoy what I've been up too.  Hoping to be back tomorrrow with more, thanks for droppin' by, have a blessed day :)

Going to the Chapel....

Hello Everyone, wow it seems like forever since my last post. I have been wearing my Scraptuary out with a couple of big projects. One of them is for my father-in-law. My family is VERY excited about this weekend...he is marrying his sweetheart on Saturday the 26th of June.  He is 75 years young, and she....well it wouldn't be ladylike to disclose her age. They are extremely cute together, and my family is soooooooooo happy for them. Here is a pic of the lovebirds...

Of course this adorable couple deserves original wedding invites, {and yes they have the family hook-up}.  The challenge came when I found out I needed to make 200 in one week ;) Yes , I know what your thinking, what, how and me and what army? It was truly the army of God that helped....my children, my incredibly patient and loving hubby, and my BFF's Kelly, and dear friends Carmen, and Ed. I so greatly appreciate my friends and family, without them there would have been no way the deadline would have been met. 

 On your left is a pic of the jacket of invite. Normally I hand cut each piece from individual cardstock, measuring, and calculating every last lil' detail.  I'm gonna let you in on a secret........ Michael's had an amazing sale on their invite kits on the very day I received the order to make these....is that totally God or what?!? I'm just sayin'.......

SO the base of the invite is from a kit but I added the embellishments of the ovals and the initial using the Storybook cartridge.  The sapphire stones were for the bride to mimic the twinkle in her eye everytime she sees her groom :)

On the Invite I computer printed the info and handstamped with Ranger Denim Adirondack Ink with a clear $1 flourish stamp from Michael's. I really found out the blessing of having a Cricut Create from this project{which fyi was a gift from my son for Valentine's Day this year!!} Life just keeps getting more amd more creative and fun!! 

Well time to shut down and pack and then turn in.  We head down to our hometown at half past dark- thirty. I will be back next week with updates about the whole shabang!! Take care and thanks for dropping in...

until laters @>--%--- Stephanie

June Bug Blog Hop was Awesome!!

What a Fantabulous Morning I've Had!!!

I loved viewing all the incredibly creative and inspiring videos and pics from Made by Momo's June Bug Blog Hop this morning!! My brain is on idea OVERLOAD!! 10 projects, 10 Give Aways from 10 amazingly talented women need I say more?!?! what more could this creative cardmaker ask for?!?!  maybe to hopefully win some of the awesome blog candy :D Just go to Made by Momo and let your fingers do the clicking. Oh and make sure you take a shot at finding the Secret Video at Karlee Krafts, there is a chance to win something awesome if you do....and if you missed it My Pink Stamper has recorded there LIVE show from last night.  Warning DO NOT being drinking your coffee or tea while viewing or you will be cleaning your computer screen :o{

The time has come for me to logout out of this creative blogosphere and to get back to my projects in my Scraptuary :0) Last but definitely not least, I would like to say a big HOWDY & WELCOME to my new followers. Thanks for taking time to visit me. Please leave me a comment where I can drop in and visit you :)

A cup of coffee, 2 hours of blog hoppin', and a full day of feedin' my creative spirit...wow I have a blessed life!! Enjoy the lil' moments of today remember God is in the details :)

Heartstrings Independence Day Seasonal Cartridge Giveaway!!!

Hello Everybody,

This is a short pitstop to post about an AWESOME giveaway that is happening over at http://heartstring-designs.blogspot.com/ .A fabulously creative paper crafter named Shelly is giving away...yes I said giving away, ok maybe you didn't hear me...ABSOLUTELY FREE CRICUT CARTRIDGE people ,with a ton of other goodies if she reaches a certain number of followers. 
You have Not 1, Not 2, no Not even 3, 4 is a bore, you have a total of  5 chances to win a really cool cartridge that you can show off your American pride with!! Why are you still reading this?!?!  I'm not going to post a pic of it,  go over to my sidebar to the GiveAway button and click it.

 Love the chance to add to the endless possibilities of supplies, thanks again Shelly...
 @>--%---- Stephanie

The Golden Spoon Trophy

Hello everyone :0)

Hope you are having an awesome day full of creativeness....thought I would drop in and share about something special that happened this past weekend.  You know when you have kids and their birthdays are just a couple days apart, it's easier to have a combined party. Well us wives of two awesome men did just that.  My fantabulous husband celebrated his 40th birthday with an awesome friend and bro in Christ who also turned 38 this year. The birthday men had a request of a simple, back in the day, game party. Dominoes and Spoons were the games of choice. 

What is Spoons you ask? It's a fun crowd pleasing, rowdy, sometimes painful card game that ALOT of people can play at one time. We use everyday silverware teaspoons to play with.  The amount of participants determines how many decks of cards and spoons that are used. First you place a pile of spoons in the middle of the gaming table.  The number of spoons is always ONE LESS then the number of players{ex.10 players=9 spoons} You start off by dealing 4 cards to each player.  The object of the game is to collect 4 of the same face value of the cards in your hand {ie four 4's, four Kings, four 2's, etc.} suit does not matter. You can only have 4 cards in your hand at all times.  The dealer picks up the cards one at a time and passes the ones he/she does not want to the player on the left. When the dealer finds the one they need, they discard one from their hand and replace with the one they just drew then they pass along the discarded one also. The player to the left of the dealer picks up the card and either keeps it if needed or passes it on.  The passing continues to every player{sometimes in at a very rapid speed} until eventually someone has 4 of a kind in their hand.  Now is where the fun ensues...when you have 4 of a kind then and ONLY then you quietly reach into the middle and take a spoon. Once you have your spoon in your grasp, then it becomes a free for all for the other players and the mayhem begins.  Grabbing, out of control elbows,  people flying across the table, chairs flying backwards, you get the picture. The one player left without a spoon receives the first letter of the word...you guessed it SPOONS.  The player to receive all the letters is out of the game.  

We ended up doing a Sudden Death version just because it was taking AWHILE with 13 players playing at one time. Sudden Death for us is when you don't acquire a spoon by whatever means necessary, you are immediately out.  There is NO spelling involved. 

The photos were taken by the awesome winner and owner of the first coveted Golden Spoon Trophy, Nancy{thank you for sharing them with me!!}  I used the Indie Art Solutions Cartridge to cut out the suit shapes(using the regular, shadow, & blackout features and layering them together) and the crown.  The crown was accented with the year in white gel pen. 

This game goes wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy back with my husbands family and is definitely our family favorite. You can add your own spin or additional rules to it. If you and your family has played this game before, please share about the fun you had by leaving me a comment.

I have been challenged by a dear friend to make silver, bronze, and gold trophies next time...I have accepted.  Each set of trophies with be a lil different to keep it interesting.  Thanks for hanging out and reading, enjoy the lil' things in your everyday routine...have a blessed day @>--%----

Summertime Vacation Giveaway Entry

What an awesome day I've had.  Spending time in my Scraptuary getting creative...this is the life. This post is to participate in an awesome Summertime card challenge presented by Nicole at the Canadian Nickel Scrap'n blog.  When I think of summer I immediately picture bright colors, flip flops, and fun. The original card is a fun modge podge of what I had in my stash.  No cricutting, just old school putting together.  The circles on the background layer are glittered designer paper from Pressed Petals Assorted Cardstock Stack Little Safari, do they remind you of Lifesavers candy or is it just me? The flowers are felt that are from a spool I found in the carnival crafts section at Hobby Lobby{ one of my FAV places to shop}.  Bright colorful brads accent the flowers and wide lime green grossgrain ribbon gives them a place to rest. The flip flop image is stamped and double layered and colored in with foray markers.  They are accented with small red flower brads and adhered with foam squares. Love the sentiment from this $1 stamp found at Micheals{another FAV store during their sales}.  Of course the most fun about the card is the fun fur found at my local BigLots {yet another FAV store for great deals}.

Well before I become permanately adhered to my chair in my lil' cubby hole, I better sign off for tonight. Please leave me a commment and let me know whatcha think of my OCP(Obsessive Complusive Papercrafting).  Oh and don't forget to check out the awesome talent of Janis at http://paperplaytime.blogspot.com/ and Nicole at http://canadiannickelscrapn.blogspot.com/ @>--%----

Paper Playtime Challenge #2

Good afternoon everyone!! Hope everybody is doing well. Here in SA we are trying to stay dry.  What a more perfect day to stay inside and play with paper ;o) 

Please join my family and I in praying for our neighbors in New Braunsfels ,Tx.  Dear Lord we lift up the residents of Lake McQueeny and New Braunfels to you ,the massive flooding has taken over their homes and lives,we pray that the water recedes soon and that you will provide them with all the help and assistance they need to get their lives back on track, In Jesus name we pray Amen.

I am really excited about participating in my first blog challenge presented by Janis at Paper Playtime. The inspiration for the card was the quote "In thy face I see honor, truth, and loyalty".  To me there is no more honor, truth and loyalty to be seen then in our heavenly Father's face.  I see his face in every man & woman who fight for their spirituality as soliders in his kingdom, and also in those who serve our country by fighting for our liberty and freedom.  I feel incredibly blessed to be an American and evermore so proud to be married to a  National Guard Veteran. No truer colors in my opinion than red, white, and blue to use for this quote. The specs for this design are.....                                                                            

  *6x6 Blue Textured Card Base *5.5x5.5 cloud graphic paper *4.5 x 6.5 red cardstock cuttlebugged with french script folder * 3.5 x 5 off white cardstock stamped with Stampabilities Pledge of Allegiance stamp* 3.25 cross image cut first in shadow feature with white cardstock, then regular cut done in same cardstock as base for card {Indie Art Solutions Cartridge}* 2.75 Dog tag image cut out on silver metallic cardstock {Stand & Salute Cartridge, pg.46 regular cut} 

 Techniques used repeatedly were torn paper edges, inking with Distress Ink in the colors of tea dye & brushed corduroy.  The quote is stamped with Hero Arts Friendship letters and numbers set in Colorbox black ink.

Let the Commencements Begin

Graduation season is upon us so today's post will be of a few examples of invites I have made for family and friends. The first one was for my son's high school graduation...GO FALCONS GO!! He is a proud member of the first Pure Falcon Class 2009 of  John Paul Stevens High School. These were a labor of love and worth evey minute of it. The best way I can describe it is a Matchbook Double Pocket with inserts?!? All I know is it turned out realllllly cool. 

The black and white paper is textured cardstock. The initials are clear stamped images on smooth white cardstock layered on a small shadow of black and then blocked on red. The angle cut outs of the blocked letters had two purposes, one they made the images large enough to be the front closure of the card and two it gave that extra pizazz. The intials are adhered with double layered  foam squares.

When you open the invite you first see a miniature piece of notebook paper stamped with vocabulary sentiment at the top followed by a handwritten list of my sons achievements, ending with another stamped sentiment. The way I did this was by cutting an index card in half and punched holes down the side with a hand punch. The black side contains the party details inserted into the first pocket of the invite. On the outside of the pocket is is another embellishment of a stamped image with ribbon attached by a staple.

Now on to the full view of the inside. On the left side panel,  printed off the computer, is the info for the ceremony and other info, typed out on top of the school seal faded into the background. The info and red matting circle were cut the same size and shifted just slightly for depth. The middle panel was reserved for my son's photo which is not permenately adhered. It is held in place by stamped images that were handcut out and pop dotted to the red matting. Notice the half circle punch...that is where the second pocket is. It held an updated family photo. The card base was made by cutting a black and white 12x12 sheets in half.  The black sheet was overlapped onto the whiteand adhered with doublestick tape. This whole invite was 6"x6" in size.

We have ALOT of  family and friends and the post office made a pretty penny off of us when we mailed them out...your welcome Uncle Sam =0) There were a total of 100 made all PRE-CRICUT!!  It took me awhile, but I wouldn't change anything because of the smile they brought to my son's face as well as my family and friends.

Now we move on too the graduation invites AAC(After Acquiring Cricut)...I was challenged by a friends daughter to make several examples of invites that consisted of every shade of purple, as many as possible. The card base is the Scallop card image off the Wildcard cartridge cut from a deep purple bazzil cardstock {pg. 32 in the handbook}. The cover embellishments are cut from the Storybook cartridge; the base in lavender is a Marquee image using the fancy corner feature, cuttlebugged with the textile folder and inked with a plum inkpad. The  initials of E, M, are from the fancy corner feature and the F is regular cut layered with a shadow cut adhered with foam squares cut to fit. The corners have miniature silver brads and the whole embellishment is adhered with foam squares.

                                            

One to the next two...the one on the left is a cut from the Wildcard Cartridge, the Booklet card on pg. 38 of the handbook using the blackout feature.  The 2010 cuts are from the Storybook cartridge using these layers; base is cut in shadow feature, middle layer is regular cut, and the top layer is the accent frame feature. Card # 2 on the right is a save the date/ invite combo with magnet on the back. It has a two layer base with the top layer cuttlebugged using diamond back folder, inked with plum ink.  The hat is the Graduatn card from the Wildcard cartridge {pg.73}, accented with the liner feature for the tassle.  The cascade of stars is an icon feature from the #1 card from the same cartridge {pg 69} using metallic lavender paper. Other embellishments include a brad to hold the tassle, star wire paper clips, and handwritten quote and initials in white gel pen on the hat.  The info block paper was inked and torn on the edges.

Her choice was the save the date/ invite combo. The info is written on the inside of the hat.  On the scroll cut out {the frame feature pg.73 Wildcard cartridge} is handwritten her favorite quote.  I ended up using lavender and deep purple glitter paper for the star cascades. The example pictured is her special copy for her scrapbook. The others behind it are the actual invites. I love being challenged by people on designing one of a kind invites...it makes my God given creative talent grow!!

Well that's all for today's posting...on to my next project of making programs for one wedding and invites for another. Hope you enjoy seeing my my original inspirations. I love feedback, so please take time to comment and let me know whatcha think ;o)

Celebrate Good Times COME ON!!!!

Good Morning one and all.  Well it's official first day of summer break here at our home...all is quiet in the house not a teenager is stirring...ahhhhhh peace and quiet gotta love it.

 

The subject of my post this morning is celebrations, specifically Birthdays!! I love birthdays, not only for the cake, presents and such, but the recognition that a birthday is your special day given and created for you by God himself...it's your day., the WHOLE DAY.  God made every second ,of every minute, of every hour just for us one day out of the year...HE gave each of us one day to call our own!! I'm always amazed at how detailed God is and how He took time to form me and give me life.  Thank you Lord for loving me and thank you Lord for blessing me,thank you for making me whole and saving my soul, Amen. 

Today I'm posting some examples of birthday invites that I have made for family.  The first is one for my son's 18th birthday party.  He wanted something different so we came up with our version of the WPT...MPTE ( Matt's Poker Tour Event) set up included three competition tables for Texas Hold'em, we had a game lounge set up in his room with XBox, and we had another section for checkers, chess, and dominoes.  There was something for everyone, it was a great time :)This invite is another pre-cricut and all hand cut.  The playing cards are left over misfits from games gone by.

Next is another 18th birthday invite made for "my oldest daughter".  She is the epidemy of 80's style and movie fanatic. This one required the brighter the better and the guests were encouraged to come dressed up as some of her fav characters on film, stage, and screen.  It was a Save the Date/ Invite combo with magnet on the back. Definitely original for her and only her.

The next one on the list was for a Casino party for my hubby and his best friend in Christ in 2007. Their birthdays are 3 days apart, so we combined them.  It is a shaker card with the info background mimicing a large playing card.  Items tossed inside are sequins, tiny clear beads, teeny tiny dice, and confetti in the suit shapes. This one was a labor of love and they were and still are worth it!! 

 Flash forward now to the present and there will be another party for them. A Retro Game Night Brithday Bash .  The games requested by the honorees are Dominoes and Spoons. The photo is of a much simpler version then their previous one 3 years ago.  Thank goodness for the cricut !!

The last one is definitely not least...in fact it is my fav type of birthday of all time, a baptism. I made this card to recognize a beautiful new baby sister in Christ, who's passion for learning and drinking up everything He has to offer is contagious!!  The cross is triple layered and found on the wedding solutions cricut cartridge.

Time to get on with my day...gotta party to plan for the awesome men in our lives. Check back tomorrow for more.  Thanks for droppin' by :)

Baby Love

Good afternoon everybody!! Hope all is well I know here on the NW side of San Antonio, as well as citywide, we are recovering from God's amazingly powerful light show last night demonstrated in a massive storm complete with pyrotechnics, wind, hail, rain, and power outages. One things for sure, He was and is definitely large and in charge.

Today I will begin uploading my original creations for different occasions from past years as well as the present. Baby showers are one of my favorite events to do, all the games, and pure fun it can bring. When I make invites and cards for people, I try to reflect their personality and individual styles of taste. The above photo is one of a Baby Announcement that I made for my BFF's first granddaughter.  I had carte blanche on the design, the only requirement was to keep it simple and of course very girlie.  

 This next one was a Baby Shower invite combo Save the Date for a very dear sister in Christ.  All I can take credit for on this one is the design of the invite, the photo was taken by another dear friend. The couple was truly blessed with one of the cutest baby boys you have ever laid your eyes on. The pic to the right is the inside which contains a poem, from the baby's point of view on the upper flap, an insert with the event info,and the couples registry card.  The one item not in the pic is the pastel index card for the women to write parenting advice. It fit behind the info card in the pocket.

The next one is a Save the Date/Invite combo also.  Also for a baby boy.  Actually the moms-to-be of both these invites had the same due date at the same hospital :)

The mommy-to-be helped with this invite. She is an amazing sister in Christ and faithful friend.  It's hard to tell in the pic but the yellow onesie is HAND cut and embossed with baby hands and feet Fiskars plate...we are talking pre-cricut and cuttlebug people.  We dusted the de-bossing with baby powder to help the images stand out and smell sweet ;) The background base is handstamped with an assortment of clear baby sentiments.  The pacifier is a downloaded image printed off and cut out.  The teddy is a punch and the bib lifts up to reveal the details.

Finally a baby girl again...there is nothing wrong with making invites for lil' boys.  It's just more fun for girls because of the variety accessories and pretty embellishments

These next two were made for the same baby shower just a little difference in size and embellishments.  Both versions are cuttlebugged with inking on the raised images.  On the one on the left, it has felt flowers with the accent of hot pink fun fur yarn layered behind them.the one to the right as small paper flowers with tiny lil' button centers.  The lil' princess subject of these invites has not arrived yet...we are praying that God will bless mom and baby with a healthy delivery :)

Well this is my post for today..tune in tomorrow for some more.  Thanks for stopping by :)

First Cricut BDay Card

I was blessed on Valentines Day of this year to receive some very special gifts from my family. My husband surprised me with a very romantic date that started off with a limo ride, and while we were gone our children went shopping and purchased a MAJOR item on my wishlist, a Cricut Create!! I couldn't believe it...they even got me the Wild Card Cartridge!! My life in cardmaking has changed forever... Here is my first official card using the cricut. I'm excited about the versatility it is giving my creativity!! Hope you like it @>--%----

First Day on the Blog

Well here I am...after much encouragement from my family and friends, I'm blogging. This is all new to me, but I have been told it will be a creative outlet for my artistic abilities. I have a talent for creating handmade cards and invitations for any occassion. I'm exicited about joining and experiencing this new journey in the virtual world. Stay tuned for glimpses of my works and all around random creative thoughts @>--%----